how do I cook an octopus?

Question

can anyone give me some good tips, and good recipies on cooking octopus.
and How do I get rid of the Ink?

Answer 1

This is from the Food Network:
A: The best way to clean an octopus is as follows: First, turn it inside out and pull away the entrails, the plastic-like bony sticks, and the stomach sac. Second, discard all of the items you've removed, turn the octopus right-side out, and find the beak in the middle of all the tentacles, and cut it away. Third, wash the octopus well.

From here -- unless you're dealing with a baby octopus, which is usually tender enough to eat on its own -- you're going to have to tenderize it so it's not unpleasantly chewy. There are a few methods for this:

1) The tedious and impractical: Banging it repeatedly against a rock.
2) The scientifically implausible but apparently viable: Simmering it with a cork for an hour and a half.
3) Reasonably possible: Roasting it in a cool oven for two hours.

Once it's good and tender, it can be grilled, braised, sauteed, or even served as ceviche

Answer 2

Hi there,

Apparently some of those that answered don't eat for a living :p. The only time an octopus rates an eeeww is if it is not fresh or prepared/cooked properly (just like fish).

The most basic recipe that I have is a quick deep fry. There is a bit of work involved if it is fresh. You will have to clean it out first by pulling out all the entrails for example the beak, ink sac (generally everything inside the octopus). You have to be extremely careful when removing the ink sac. If you puncture it, the ink is very difficult to remove. There is also this sheen that is on the octopus (that's its skin), remove that as well. Rinse well and put into a bowl and add salt, about 1/2 tsp for a large octopus, adjust as you see fit. Cover and leave in refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight.

Once this is done, your prep work is done. Now you can cook it. Much of what you use will be dependent on taste. I usually us a deep pan, about an inch of vegetable oil, some crushed cloves of garlic and whatever seasoning I have handy. This is done carefully over med-high heat. Your octopus is done once it turns a solid milky white colour.

If this is your first time doing it this way, I suggest that you cut up the octopus into smaller pieces and do them in batches until you get the feel for it. Sorry, I don't time my cooking so I cannot tell you exactly how long it takes. All I know is that the octopus cooks very fast.

Final notes: I cannot stress enough how careful you must be when cooking with oil. Many of us who cook sometimes assume others know how to cook safely with oil. In this case, I usually have the lid nearby in case the oil catches fire.

Hope this helps a bit. Yum, I think I will go make some deep fried calamari for dinner tonight.

Answer 3

there are pretty much 3 basic ways of cooking calamari or octopus;
1) in a hot pan for about 30 seconds maximum
2) in simmering water for about 30 seconds (maximum) the sliced up and put into a salad
3) boil for at least 4 hours and stew it down

Answer 4

Chickpea and Octopus Bruschetta: It has made converts of even the main octopus-phobic purchasers and replaced into the palms-down sought after topping between sundown's artwork tension. Prep and cook dinner Time: a million a million/2 hours. Notes: Octopus is often obtainable wiped sparkling and frozen from uniqueness grocery shops, fishmongers, and a few Asian markets. a million pound wiped sparkling infant octopus (see notes) a million/2 cup crimson wine vinegar a million tablespoon salt, plus extra to style a million/4 cup olive oil 4 cloves garlic, type of chopped a million anchovy fillet a million can (14.5 oz..) chickpeas, drained and rinsed a million/4 cup dry white wine common Bruschetta extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling a million. In a extensive pot, cover octopus with chilly water. upload vinegar and a million tablespoon salt and positioned across to a boil. cut back warmth to maintain liquid at a slow boil and cook dinner till a knife actual pierces the beef, 40 5 to 60 minutes. Drain octopus, enable cool, and chop into chickpea-length products. 2. meanwhile, in a small pan, warmth the olive oil and garlic over low warmth. cook dinner till garlic is delicate yet no longer brown, approximately 10 minutes. eliminate from warmth, upload anchovy, and mash thoroughly with a fork. 3. positioned octopus, chickpeas, and garlic-anchovy oil in a extensive frying pan over extreme warmth and cook dinner, stirring and mashing the chickpeas slightly, till mixture starts off to brown. upload white wine and scrape up any browned bits. eliminate from warmth, spoon onto bruschettas, and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil. Yield: Makes topping for 8 bruschettas

Answer 5

firstly take your freshly killed octupus and wear it on your head for forty days and forty nights
during this time you must complete two dangerous tasks
1 distroy the ring of power
2 wrestle a turquoise retriver
once this is complete u must remove the octupus and submerge it in a pot of jelly for 10 seconds
burn away the jelly and then cook in a murky swamp
garnish your octupus with basil and custard for a truly extreme taste

Answer 6

O ctopus or calamari is a very good sea food.
all i do is bake it on a piece of thin plywood, for 20 minutes at
350: then take it out of the oven scrape the octopus into
the garbage and eat the plywood.( it realy sucks)

Answer 7

make sure you Wash them lots an then fry them in two table spoons of oil an a little soya sauce with sugar snap beans ohh an a couple off slice's of ginger an couple pinch's of salt lovely !!

Answer 8

oil it,grill well,put in heat proof pot with white wine,tomatoes,salt & pepper,lots a garlic and olive oil...cover put in 400 degree oven and braise about an hour till tender......check pot every now and then and add white wine as needed....yummo....you have to locate the ink sac...and cut it off...BEFORE YOU DO THE COOKN!!

Answer 9

Pan fry on a very high heat,but not for to long as they will go rubbery

Answer 10

Have a look at the following website, they have some good recipes for octopus.

www.uktvfood.co.uk